Last night, almost 100 neighbors and friends of Swillburg gathered in Artisan Church to celebrate and learn about the historic shutdown of a proposed highway expansion through our little neighborhood 40 years ago!
Shockingly, the activists prevailed and our neighborhood rebounded and is stronger than ever. The whole story is fascinating and last night we listened to speakers who actually had a hand in our survival! This included:
Mike Henry — Swillburg historian; Joe Yatteau — longtime resident; Luke Parisi — City Councilman at the time; Ed Simmons — businessman; Elaine Spaull — current City Council person. Swillburger Judy Hay as emcee tied the whole program together beautifully.
Neighbor, Joyce Nakada (Nelson St), created an informative documentary with interviews and the highlights. That video can be viewed right here:
Also in attendance were past Swillburg President and Treasurer who were behind the revival in the 2000’s, David Chappius and Matt Perdue as well as Artist Maria Friske, the creator of the gorgeous Pembroke St. art panels!
A special thank you to The Owl House / Swillburger for catering the event with amazing sandwiches and beverages!
A video of the program/speakers can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/dp7a0Zbq0gI
To view photos from the event, provided by Nelson St. resident Heather McKay, check out our Flikr stream right here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/98323776@N05/
